Title
Forged documents spread through hiring, immigration and marriage cases, and the original is what settles it Most forgeries are manipulated image files or PDF scans, so a copy alone rarely reveals whether a document is genuine.
Content
Apostille Korea said that checking the original document rather than a copy is the way to avoid harm from forged public and private documents used in hiring, immigration, marriage and civil transactions. Online advertisements offering to forge academic and employment certificates have risen sharply from last year, deepening unease among individuals, companies and organisations.
- The Korea Communications Standards Commission counted 1,156 items of document-forgery information circulating online in the first quarter of this year.
- Detected cases totalled 1,473 including harmful information, equivalent to 88.3 percent of last year's figure.
- The documents most often forged were resident registration cards, employment certificates and university graduation certificates.
- Because many forgeries take the form of manipulated image files or PDF scans, verifying the original is the practical safeguard.
Forgery brokers reaching users through search sites and social media
Online advertisements offering to forge public and private documents, including academic and employment certificates, have increased sharply compared with last year. According to the Korea Communications Standards Commission, 1,156 items of document-forgery information circulated online in the first quarter of this year, and detected cases totalled 1,473 including harmful information, equivalent to 88.3 percent of last year's figure. The forgery information most often concerned resident registration cards, employment certificates and university graduation certificates. On the 13th, Daejeon Seobu Police Station detained two people on charges of forging and distributing documents bearing a district head's name in order to sell a stolen motorcycle as a legitimately purchased item, while Jongam Police Station in Seoul booked one person without detention on charges of forging and selling 93 public and private documents, including family relationship certificates and academic records, over the course of a year. Reaching a forgery broker through search sites or well-known social media platforms is not difficult. Brokers post email addresses and mobile numbers openly on public websites, yet the details are false, which makes arrests difficult.
Verifying the original is the surest safeguard
Document forgery now appears across hiring, immigration, marriage and civil transactions, and the resulting anxiety has widened accordingly. Cases have surfaced in which an offender was passed off as an upstanding citizen and a stolen motorcycle as a lawfully sold item. Several countermeasures exist, but for individuals, companies and organisations the most effective is to inspect the original document rather than a copy. Many forgeries take the form of manipulated image files or scans saved as PDFs. There are, however, civil documents in Korea that a third party cannot inspect at will, and situations in which a document has to be verified within hours, so obtaining the original directly is not always possible. In those cases, receiving the original through a specialist office serves as an alternative.
Frequently asked questions
Can a forgery be detected by reviewing a copy alone?
Rarely. Many forgeries take the form of manipulated image files or PDF scans.
Which documents are forged most often?
Resident registration cards, employment certificates and university graduation certificates were the most common. One case involved forging and selling family relationship certificates and academic records in bulk.
What if the original cannot be inspected directly?
Some civil documents in Korea cannot be checked by a third party at will, and time is sometimes short. In such cases the original can be obtained through a specialist office.
Source: 금강일보 · 2017-05-25